Meeting Family (Rintori)
by luvme123
Summary: Nitori asks Rin to come with him to meet his family and tell them about his swimming, and Rin soon realizes that Nitori's parents would rather pick on him than be his parents. Fluff ensues. Oneshot


"-Senpai!"

_Dammit._

With that word, Rin sighs. He'd pulled the senpai card. He'd _have_ to go with Nitori now. He couldn't say no when he did that.

_I just wish the little shit knew how much he's able to get me to do with that one word..._

"Please?" Nitori gets on his knees in front of Rin and he gulps, blushing despite himself.

"...Fine. But I don't understand why you want _me_ to go with you to a family gathering," Rin says irritably, and before Nitori can pull out a _"thank you, senpai" _Rin says, "I mean, it's a _family gathering_, not a 'bring a friend to hang out with your family gathering'."

"I- I wanted to bring you because my mom and dad want to know how my swimming is! They won't believe me when I tell them anything, so I asked you to come along because you're the one who knows most on how good I am and how bad I am. You can give them an honest answer." Nitori says, embarrassed. His cheeks tinge pink as he pulls Rin into a hesitant embrace. "Thank you for agreeing to go with me, senpai!"

Rin just grumbles and blushes, pushing Nitori away before his thoughts catch up with his body. "Yeah yeah, I'm only staying for a bit, then I'm catching a cab back, ok?"

"O- of course, senpai! I wouldn't want to impose."

"Of course you wouldn't," Rin mutters to himself, "That's part of your charm."

"E- excuse me senpai?"

"Nothing, Nitori. Just get whatever you need and call the cab. I'm ready to go when you are."

"Yes senpai!" Nitori nods meticulously before rushing to his bunk and grabbing his Samezuka jacket and his cellphone. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

* * *

><p>"Aichirou, sweetie, how nice it is to see you again," A young woman, whom Rin assumed was Norton's mother, approaches them immediately as they step out of the cab. Rin turns to pay the driver as Nitori meets more and more family members, and hugs get distributed.<p>

"Aichirou," Nitori's father nods at him and Nitori stands firm as he nods back. "I suspect boarding school is doing well for you? I see you've made a friend,"

"D- dad! I have more friends, it just seemed imprudent to bring everyone..." Nitori blushes and Rin's eyebrows raise in question. _Surely, he'd be more talkative in a familiar environment... _

"And who are you, young man?" Nitori's mother, who hadn't noticed Rin earlier, turns from pinching her son's cheek to inspecting Rin carefully. "One of Aichirou's boyfriends?" _Boyfriends? _She giggles as Nitori lets out an exasperated_ "mother!"_ She says to a flustered Rin, "We sent him to Samezuka so he'd quit picking up every boy he saw and breaking their hearts, but I see that's not the case."

"Mom!" Nitori flushes pink, ignoring the two-year-old latched on his leg trying to get his attention.

"Ai and I are just friends," Rin says, forcing a smile at Nitori's mother, "I'm the swim captain at Samezuka Academy, actually."

"Oh," Nitori's father looks Rin up and down thoughtfully, his eyebrow raising as Rin realizes he's called the younger boy 'Ai.' "So you're the infamous Rin Maksouka our son always talks about,"

Rin blushes, shooting a look at Nitori, who was looking more flustered than he'd ever been.

"I- I don't talk about you that much, senpai..." He mutters, though the permanent blush on his cheeks spoke otherwise.

"How is our Aichirou doing on the swim team? He seems to have a passion for swimming." Nitori's mother asks. Rin looks around awkwardly. They were still in the street, a big group of them, but he doesn't mention it.

"Aichirou is a lot better than I saw him do when he was preparing for the swim team in middle school," Rin admits, "He holds a determined mindset that nearly everyone on the team is jealous of. I have a feeling that the more he practices - without hurting himself, that is - he'll get better and better."

"That's terrific news!" Nitori's mother claps, "My baby! All grown up!"

"It's not terrific," Nitori mutters, crossing his arms. Suddenly, Nitori's mother remembers that they're in the middle of the street and grabs both boys by their arms, pulling them along to their home.

"Aichirou, honey, you can go to your room for a few, but we wanna see you and your boyfriend sometime before you leave tomorrow," She says, tugging the child off of Nitori. Nitori blushes and leads Rin down the hall silently.

"Your family is..." Rin watches the door shut and lock behind him and gulps.

"I hate them," Nitori snaps, before realizing what he'd said and takes it back. "No, no I don't hate them. I'm sorry for losing my temper, Matsouka senpai, it's just- they always do this! Always making fun of me! I- I'm sorry they've done the same to you."

"It's ok." Rin says softly. "I get it; the people you love can get on your nerves sometimes."

"K- kind of like that." Nitori says quietly. The room fills with silence as both boys take in what had just happened outside. "...I...understand...if you want to switch rooms," Nitori whispers, "I understand completely if you want to leave now as well."

"I'm not going to leave, Ai, and I'm not going to move out. It's ok." Rin says softly, his eyes landing on Nitori pitifully. He's glad he had a different mother. "Sometimes parents say things and they don't know that they're hurting you."

Time passes and Nitori's other knocks on the door a while later. Nitori unlocks it and stands stiffly at the door. "Yes mother?" His voice is quiet.

"Dinner's ready if you boys are ready to join us."

"Ok," Rin says from behind Nitori, smiling another forced smile at his mother, "Thank you."

"Any time, dear," Nitori's mother heads down the hall to the kitchen and Nitori follows silently, Rin following the younger closely.

"Ah, nice to see you boys again." Nitori's father says from his chair. Nitori sits silently in his chair and pats the one next to him as Rin takes in the family members around the table. Nitori's parents, two small children, and a girl he assumed was his older sister. Pictures of Nitori's other family line the wall behind his parents. Aunts, uncles, grandparents. The wall was full.

"Our other family members are always too busy to meet with us when we celebrate," Nitori's mother explains, seeing Rin looking around curiously. "So we keep photographs of them on the wall. We took Aichirou's off, since he's here." She points to an overturned photo on the small kitchen counter.

Nitori's older sister scoffs. "He must always be home, then. That thing is never up."

"Now dear-"

"Just stating the truth," Nitori's sister crosses her arms as she glares at her plate.

Food is distributed silently.

"So, Rin, was it? How do you and our son know each other?" It was Nitori's mother who spoke first.

"Well, apart from the swim team?" His mother nods. "We're roommates."

"So you're in Ai's grade, I assume?"

"No, Ma'am."

"Oh?"

"I'm a second year, and Ai is a first year."

"I see,"

"Going for older men, now aren't we, son?" Nitori's father laughs to himself as Nitori blushes furiously. Rin can see the embarrassed tears brimming in his eyes and coughs.

"Excuse me, but I have to use the restroom. Could you direct me in the direction, please?"

"Of course sweetie, it's just down the hall. Next to Aichirou's room."

"Thanks." Rin stands and walks down the hall, feeling every pair of eyes on him until he closed the door.

He pulls out his phone. He hears Nitori's father laugh loudly and Nitori wail, sounding embarrassed

_Hey little sis, I need you to call me in five. Fake an emergency, I need an excuse to get out of dinner._

Rin presses send on his phone and flushes the toilet, running the water lightly over his hands and making his way back towards dinner.

Nitori's head was buried in his arms, his food almost untouched. Rin could see the light sobs that wracked his body silently. They clean up the table and just begin settling in the living room when Rin's phone rings.

"Sorry, hold on." Rin presses the answer button, already knowing the caller. "Gou? What are you doing calling so late? I'm busy,"

_"It's Haruka senpai, Rin-chan! He's nearly drown!" _Gou's voice is filled with pretend horror, and Rin nearly grins knowing his sister would do something like this no questions asked.

"Haru? What's happened?" He takes a peek at the others to see them eyeing them curiously, and notices Nitori wiping away furiously the tears that streaked his cheeks. He looked curiously at Rin.

_"He- he was...swimming in the ocean and hit his head! Mokoto senpai had to go in and save him, but he's still unconscious! We're taking him to the hospital now, Mako-chan said to call you and inform you to come as well."_

"Can't it wait? Like I said-"

_"No. Haru almost died, Rin, he needs you guys by his side. Come. Now."_

Rin sighs, feigning annoyance. "Ok, I'll be there in a few."

_"Thank you, Nii-Chan! It is much appreciated!"_ Gou cheers and hangs up. Rin pulls the phone from his ear.

"I apologize deeply, everyone, but it seems a dear friend of Ai and I's has gotten into some trouble. We're to meet my sister at the hospital to meet them. I wish we could stay longer," Rin says solemnly, looking at Nitori and says, "Ai, Nanase Haruka from Iwatobi almost drown and was brought to the hospital. Their team has requested we be there. Do you mind if we call a cab? You could stay here if you'd like,"

"No, no," Nitori grabs his own phone out, pulling up the cab company's number on the screen, "I'd love to go. If Haruka-kun is that hurt..."

Nitori calls the cab and they wait.

"I'm very sorry, again, but Haru was a very close friend of mine, and your son has rekindled said friendship. He's grown close to him, and it would be disappointing to Haru if we stayed and didn't visit now."

"It's alright," Nitori's mother says sweetly, nodding lightly. Nitori stands.

"I'll be right back, I just need to grab my jacket before the cab arrives." Nitori mutters, excusing himself, before rushing down the hall, head down. He doesn't give anyone room to respond before he closes the door softly.

"So, Rin, you'll take care of Aichirou for us, right?"

"What?" Rin looks questioningly at Nitori's mother, wondering if he'd heard her right.

"You said you see him at swim practice, yeah? Could you just...make sure the older boys aren't being rough with him? He's always been small," She giggles, a look of remembrance on her face, "I...I remember the doctors said I was having a girl,"

"Boy were we surprised when we got him," Nitori's father says gruffly. "We used to just dress him in girl clothes because that's what we had. He's lucky his aunt has boys, or he'd probably never have any masculine clothing,"

"We used to-" His sister giggled, "We used to tell him that he was going to grow up and be the prettiest girl on the street. He still probably will."

Rin has a feeling Nitori wouldn't want them sharing this. Nitori exits his room, his jacket on, and Rin's in his hand.

"You left this in my bedroom." He says, giving it to him. Rin thanks him, and sees the cab pull up outside. Pulling on his jacket, he points outside and stands.

"Ready to go, Aichirou?"

"Y-yes senpai." Nitori nods, and turns to his family. "Goodbye. I'm sorry we couldn't stay longer."

"It's fine, son, you'll just have to come back again," Nitori's father says from his chair, and adds, "And bring Rin back when you do," as they exit.

Nitori grimaces and shuts his eyes tight, trying to stop the tears again before walking to the cab silently. Rin follows, and gives the driver the address before climbing in. Nitori was already inside, curled up in a ball in his seat.

* * *

><p>"This isn't the hospital, senpai," Nitori says as Rin drags him out of the cab and out of his reverie. He hadn't noticed they'd stopped. He pays the driver quickly and watches quietly as the car drives away.<p>

"I thought you'd like to get back," Rin says simply, starting towards the dormitories. "You were crying. I don't like it when you cry."

"But we should go see Nanase-san if he's injured!"

Rin can't help but laugh. "Haru isn't hurt, Nitori, it was a lie."

"Huh?"

"I texted my sister when I excused myself to the restroom and asked her to call with a fake emergency. Haru and Makoto were on a date or something tonight, so there was no threat to Haru at all." Rin explains.

"Oh," Nitori nods, "Thank you, senpai, but...I have to ask, why did you lie?"

"I told you, I don't like to see you cry," Rin says softly. He stops to unlock their door and steps in. Nitori sits at his desk, turning to face Rin as he finds a comfortable spot on his bunk. "You're a good kid, and you have a bright future. Probably a brighter one than I do."

"Really?" Nitori squeaks, happy tears flooding his eyes. He quickly wipes them away, not wanting to cry in front of his senpai.

"Really."

Rin blushes and tuns away silently as he realizes he's just said those things to Nitori, but suddenly a pair of arms is wrapped around him and squeezing tight.

"Thank you for saying that." Nitori whispers, still hugging him. Rin hugs back, surprised at Nitori's sudden affection. "I never really get praised at jome like that. Sometimes I wonder if they really want me or if they just sent me here to get rid of me..."

"If they sent you here to get away from you, it's their loss." Rin whispers back.

Nitori nods, before letting a single tear slide down his face. It hits Rin's shirt and dampens it.

"Now, now, Nitori," Rin says, pulling apart so he could see Nitori properly, "I told you; I don't like it when you cry."

Nitori nods, "I- I'm sorry senpai. T- They're happy tears. Promise."

Rin finally notices their close proximity and closes his eyes. _Do it. He's right here, this is your chance._ When he opens them, his eyes are determined and he kisses Nitori lightly. He expects a struggle - because even though he was gay, he may not have liked him - but after the initial shock wears off, Nitori is kissing him back.

After a minute or so, Nitori pulls away. "S- senpai?"

Rin smiles. "Yes?"

"Why did you do that?"

"You were crying. I wanted to make you stop crying."

"Like you did when my parents were making fun of me?"

"Yeah. Like that." Then,an idea strikes Rin. "I have an idea. Next time there's a break, come over to my house. We can hang out with Haru and them."

Nitori smiles, and tries to climb to his own bed, but Rin holds onto him. "T- that sounds great." He replies.

"Yeah?" Rin asks, smiling.

Nitori smiles innocently back. "Yes," He confirms, "...I'd like that."

"Me too."


End file.
